Pjevaj grlo, dat ću ti kolača – Donji Bitelić, Cetinska krajina, HR

Marica Jukić – Lead Voice (počinje)
Matija Jukić, Milica Jukić – Second Voice (prate)

Coorganiser - Petar Gladović

Lyrics (HR)
Pjevaj grlo, daću ti kolača
Mene majka goji za pjevača

Nas tri seke zapjevati znale
Kad smo čet'ri godine imale

Ja Bitelka, Bitelka mi nana
Bitelka mi rodila dragana

Ja ljubila i pustila kraju
Sada živim k'o duša u raju

Lyrics (ENG)
Sing, my throat, I’ll give you cake
My mother raises me to be a singer

We, three sisters, could sing
When we were four years old

I’m from Bitelić, my mother is from Bitelić
A women from Bitelić gave birth to my sweetheart

I kissed him and left him behind
Now I live like I'm in heaven

Donji Bitelić is a village located in the southern slopes of the Dinara mountain range, near the bed of the Cetina River. The residents of Bitelić have been engaged in shepherding and farming for centuries. Singers from Bitelic are the few women in the region who perform an old vocal technique called treskavica. It is one variation of a broader musical phenomenon called ojkanje (in 2010 listed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists). The person who starts the song invites the rest to sing along. In response, one singer performs a characteristic deep laryngeal vibrato (treska), while the other singers maintain a common long tone. Sometimes the singer performing the treskavica begins the song himself - as in the case of the song “Oja noja lipa mala moja.”

KUD Cetina Sinj is an association that preserves and promotes the cultural heritage of the Cetina region, including singing and dancing. It was founded in 2018. Its rich singing repertoire includes ojkavica, treskavica, samačko pjevanje and rera, as well as the Cetina variant of the kolo dance.

Cetinska krajina is a historical and geographical region located in Dalmatian Zagora, between the Dinara, Kamešnica and Svilaja mountains. It takes its name from the Cetina River and the historical żupania bearing the same name, first mentioned in the 10th century. From 1513, the area was under the rule of the Ottoman Turks, and from 1699 - within the borders of the Venetian Republic. Both periods left their traces in the culture of the region, including traditional costume and one of the most distinctive elements of folklore known as alkarstvo - an equestrian competition commemorating the heroic defense of the city against the Turks in 1715.
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About us – Balkan Polyphony is a field research project that collects traditional music from the Balkan area. We are not interested in any ideologies, we don’t take sides in any historical conflicts. What interests us is traditional culture and its musical intricacies.
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Our Partner: Narodni muzej Zadar, Etnološki odjel (National Museum Zadar, Ethnological Department)